Hamas denies Egypt’s mediator role

Dr Salah al-Bardawil, a leader the Palestinian Hamas movement, said on Monday there was a very small possibility of Egypt taking on the role of mediator in Palestinian reconciliation talks due to the current political situation in the country.? Bardawil said during a press conference that “there is no way to discuss Palestinian ?reconciliation while Egypt is in an uncertain state.”? Bardawil added that Egypt needs to first see to its internal political situation amid continuous ?protests since the ouster of the former president, Mohammed Morsi, highlighting that it would be difficult at ?the moment for Egypt to be the mediator in reconciliation talks between Hamas and the rival Fatah movement. According to Bardawil, US secretary of State John Kerry’s plan, regarding reconciliation, which was already approved by Palestinian President ?Mahmoud Abbas, was destined to fail. Hamas and Fatah have been meeting for several months to discuss the issue of reconciliation but talks intensified during Kerry’s visit to the region last week. Currently each group is running one of two different governments in Palestinian territory. Abbas' US-backed Fatah administration controls the West Bank, while the Islamist Hamas run the embargoed Gaza Strip and do not recognize Abbas' authority.  The two groups disagree over a possible two-state solution, an issue that is on table for the expected peace talks between Israel and Palestine. Hamas is opposed to any form of co-existence with Israel as well as peace talks with the Jewish state, whilst Fatah demands that Israel's pre-1967 border serve as a baseline for negotiations.